Giannis Antetokounmpo made his first preseason appearance at Kaseya Center as a Heat player Thursday night, scoring 18 points on nearly 62% shooting in just under 18 minutes. Miami beat the New Orleans Pelicans 128-118 to move to 2-0 in exhibition play.
The Heat scored 73 points in the first half, continuing a high-scoring start to the preseason. Miami opened with a 129-105 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, when it put up 76 first-half points.
Questions about spacing have followed Miami since it acquired Antetokounmpo in a major offseason trade and later signed sharpshooter Klay Thompson. The Heat have had trouble finding reliable 3-point shooters to play alongside Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Miami shot 35% from deep against Toronto and 38% against New Orleans on 40 attempts in each game.
The defense also drew notice. Miami held Toronto to 39% shooting and 29% from three-point range. New Orleans shot 44% from the field and from deep, but committed 21 turnovers to Miami’s 11.
Preseason results count for little, but the early signs gave the Heat reason for optimism. Miami hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves for its third of five preseason games Saturday at 8 p.m.
